Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 13 – No. 4811 November 26, 2011
Thought for the week: "Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees." – J. Willard Marriott, Founder of Marriott Hotels
An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough."
"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams.
"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Then he hangs up.
Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this." She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "They're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own fares."
According to an article in Bulletin Digest several years ago, the Carl Mosser family was traveling in Oklahoma when a gunman commandeered their car and held them hostage for several days as they drove around over the countryside.
Their kidnapper had a strange eye that never quite closed, and the family could not tell when he was asleep. They were afraid for their lives, and so they were held hostage through the long and tedious ordeal. Finally, they stopped at a little station/grocery store out in the country. Mr. Mosser, saw his chance and he grabbed his abductor and begged the station owner to call the sheriff. "Please," he cried, "Please call the law."
The owner got his own gun and told them all to leave. "I do not want any trouble around here," he said. "Just all of you leave." The terrified family drove away with their captor. The next day the couple and their two children were found murdered. Their bodies had been thrown into an abandoned well.
Their killer was brought to trial and convicted. Later the state tried the station owner and convicted him for his failure to notify authorities and perhaps save the family's life.
Most of the time we would like to be neutral, and often this is the wisest course to take. Shakespeare warned about jumping into other people's quarrels, and Solomon said, "He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears" (Proverbs 26:17). But there are times when being neutral can be criminal. The old saying is that silence is golden, but sometimes silence is just plain yellow. Pontius Pilate wanted to be neutral. He wanted to be the leader, but then did not want to show leadership. The Jewish leaders were bothering him with thinly veiled threats to report him to Caesar. The surging mob was calling for the release of Public Enemy Number One, Barabbas, while they clamored for the death of Jesus, a man in whom Pilate could find no fault. His wife begged him to have nothing to do with Christ's death. But politics prevailed, the leader "washed his hands" of the matter, and when he had scourged Jesus he delivered him to be crucified (Matthew 27:24).
Sometimes we just cannot be neutral and still be right with the Lord.
I recall, as a little barefoot boy with a cowlick of snow-white hair on my forehead, standing erect in my classroom and repeating the "Pledge of Allegiance" one Thanksgiving season. Our nation was at war and times were hard. My teacher had lost her husband on the blood washed shores of Normandy. As we later bowed our heads for prayer she wept aloud. I did too. All the class joined in. She stumbled through one of the most moving expressions of gratitude and praise that ever emerged from a soul plunged in pain.
At that time in my young life, I fell strangely in love with Thanksgiving. Lost in sympathy and a boy's pity for his teacher, I walked home very slowly that afternoon. Although only a child, I had profound feelings of gratitude for my country ... my friends ... my school ... my church ... my family. I swore before God that I would fight to the end to keep this land free from foes who would want to take away America's distinctives and the joys of living in this good land. I have never forgotten my childhood promise. I never shall.
Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, p. 424.
Several centuries ago in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He made a good decision. He decided to build them a church. No one was permitted to see the plans or the inside of the church until it was finished. At its grand opening, the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. Everything had been thought of and included. It was a masterpiece.
But then someone said, "Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really quite dark in here. How will the church be lighted?" The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls, and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship.
"Each time you are here'" the nobleman said, "the place where you are seated will be lighted. Each time you are not here, that place will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God's house will be dark."
That's a poignant story, isn't it? And it makes a very significant point about the importance of our commitment and loyalty to the church.
– James W. Moore, Some things Are Too Good
Not To Be True, Dimensions: Nashville, 1994,
pp. 117-118.
There's a story about a father and son who were in constant tension about the son's casual attitude about finding a job. During a particularly heated argument the father said, "If you can get a job you enjoy, that's fine. But in the end, a job is the way you make a living."
The son answered meanly, "Well, I want something a lot better than wasting away as manager of a muffler shop."
The mother overheard the conversation and was furious. "How dare you demean another man's life? Your dad's a wonderful husband and father and people look up to him. He gave up on his dream to be a sportswriter so he could give you and your sisters a good home and college educations. He may not be your idea of success, but he's mine." And she handed him a poem by Betty Anderson Stanley:
"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Be done with dishonesty ... deception ... and fraud. Long to grow up into the fullness of your salvation."1
I once asked a group what they thought church members' number one sin or problem was. As quick as a flash one humorist replied, "Apathy, but who cares?" While he was joking, he may have been correct, but my belief is that one of our biggest problems is the sin of denial!
No matter what our problem is, as long as we keep our head in the sand and don't admit there's a problem, or refuse to face reality, there is no resolution. As one ostrich said to the other, both with their heads in the sand, "Is it safe to come out yet?"
One of my greatest strengths is to admit my failures and weaknesses. That takes honesty and true courage. It doesn't take courage to deny them. That's a sign of fear and weakness.
Without access to the truth there is no healing, there is no overcoming our difficulties and problems, and there is no freedom. God himself can't even help us.
Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."2 So as long as there is any area of my life where I haven't found freedom then, to that degree, there is some truth about myself that I am not seeing or facing or am in denial about. Denial is deadly. It prevents us becoming all that God wants us to be. It is also the root cause of endless physical sicknesses, relational conflicts, spiritual dryness, and emotional problems including anxiety, worry, false guilt, hostility, depression and so on.
Furthermore, as today's Scripture points out, getting real is a part of growing up into the fullness of our salvation and/or Christian maturity.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be totally open and honest with myself, with you, and with at least one safe and trusted friend to whom I can confess all my fears, failures, sins and weaknesses without any fear of being judged, criticized or put down. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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15. Helpful Books, CDs, DVDs, and Cassette Messages
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CDs, DVDs, and Cassettes:
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